Dentist indicted in wife's plunge to death

WORCESTER — A Worcester dentist has been indicted on manslaughter and assault charges in the 2011 death of his wife at the couple's Princeton home.

A Worcester County grand jury handed up indictments Friday charging Roger Desilets Jr., 69, with manslaughter and assault and battery in the death of 65-year-old Kathleen Desilets, whose body was discovered in the early-morning hours of Dec. 6, 2011, on the ground beneath a shattered third-floor window at the couple's 20 Worcester Road, Princeton, home.

He is scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 2 in Worcester Superior Court.

Mrs. Desilets died of blunt trauma of the torso with a laceration of the heart and fractures of the ribs and spine, according to a death certificate.

Dr. Desilets told Princeton police who responded to his 911 call that morning that he and his wife had gotten into an argument and that she threatened to jump out of a window.

According to court documents in the case, Dr. Desilets said he and his wife had argued earlier about issues stemming from an extramarital affair he had. That quarrel led to a “physical altercation” during which his wife struck him, he told investigators.

Dr. Desilets said he and his wife of 44 years made up, but that another argument ensued after he made an “off-color” or “sexually demeaning” remark to his wife

He said she put on her robe and went upstairs to another bedroom.

Later, after hearing noises, Dr. Desilets said he went upstairs to find Mrs. Desilets smashing a window with a chair. Dr. Desilets related to police that his wife went through the window, either intentionally or as a result of the momentum of breaking the window.

Some of the circumstances surrounding Mrs. Desilets' death were not revealed until the Telegram & Gazette obtained a ruling from Supreme Judicial Court Associate Justice Barbara A. Lenk.

In August, Justice Lenk ordered the release of search warrants and other related materials that had been impounded initially at the request of District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. and later by Edward P. Ryan Jr., Dr. Desilets' lawyer.

“We are very disappointed that Dr. Desilets has been indicted in this matter. Dr. Desilets had absolutely no role in his wife's tragic death and this indictment represents yet another tragedy in this very sad episode,” said Mr. Ryan.

“He has been wrongfully accused in this matter, is now presumed to be innocent, and will be vindicated completely after trial,” Mr. Ryan said.

Dr. Desilets' partners at Central New England Endodontics issued a statement of support. “All of us who know Roger know he had no part in the tragic death of his wife,” according to the statement signed by Drs. Dennis M. Byrne, Nicholas J. Manzoli and Michael P. Russo.

“We have complete confidence in Roger's innocence and confidently expect that he will be exonerated,” said the statement